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Why business profiles on Google and Apple are important for restaurants

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In today’s world, where everything is happening online, it is essential for your business to be visible in the digital world. With millions of people actively searching for local businesses on a daily basis, you want to make sure that your business appears at the top of search results so that you can attract more customers and increase sales.

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If a customer searches “restaurants near me” on Google, do they see your restaurant? Or another one? A business listings management platform helps improve how a company ranks organically in local search by managing every aspect of its online presence — from address and phone number to reviews from restaurant patrons.

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In fact, online reviews directly impact local SEO. Search Engine Journal (SEJ) reports that reviews can either help or harm your rankings, based on a variety of factors. Businesses with more positive reviews appear to get rewarded by Google by appearing higher in the "Map Pack" at the top of organic search results.

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Explore Mobal for restaurants

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What is the Map Pack? 

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The Map Pack, aka Local Pack, includes three Google Business Profiles with star ratings, customer reviews, and business details — and getting into that top three greatly improves your chances of someone finding you through local search.

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It’s not just local SEO that drives people into your restaurant, either. SEJ reports additional statistics that should give you pause if you’re on the fence about whether business listings need to be considered in your local marketing for restaurants:

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• Some 76% of people who perform a local search from their smartphones will visit the business within 24 hours.
• One survey found that 82% of consumers read reviews while conducting a local search — spending nearly 14 minutes perusing reviews before making a decision.
• 86% of people use Google Maps to locate a business.
• Yelp, a key platform for restaurants, appears in the top five SMB search results 92% of the time.

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Clearly, accurate and up-to-date business listings are important for any local business hoping to attract customers, but especially for restaurants. Read on to learn more about business listings and how they can help you with review management, local SEO, Google Business profile updates, and local marketing for restaurants.

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What is a business profile management platform?

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A business listings management platform is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) that helps businesses manage their online reviews and listings across the web. It’s designed to help you keep your information consistent throughout all of your online reviews and listings so that customers can find your business easily across different platforms. A great business listings management platform will also provide insights into how effective your digital marketing strategies are for driving leads and sales.

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These are some of the elements typically found in local business listings:

• Name, address, and phone number (known as NAP
• Your website
• Hours of operation
• Business category (i.e., restaurant)
• Pictures or videos of your business
• A brief description of your business
• Accepted payment methods

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Find out how Hawaii Restaurants started using Mobal to update their business profiles on Google. Mobal provides a solution with everything in one place, including information management, content management, review management, and menus. All essential aspects of a restaurant's online presence. 

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How a business profile management platform can help you win more customers

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Download the local marketing for restaurants trend report 2023

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Customer expectations and experience

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With so many people searching for local businesses online, it’s important that you deliver a positive customer experience before customers even set foot in your restaurant. Your business listings management platform can help you meet customers’ expectations and create the kind of experience they want when searching for your business. Here’s how: 

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It unifies your online presence

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Your online presence is a major part of your business. It's important to have a unified look, feel, and content strategy across all channels so that customers can find you in the same way wherever they go. With a business listings management platform, it's easier to maintain consistent branding and messaging across all of your digital media channels — your website, social media profiles, your Google Business profile, on review platforms, and anywhere else your business appears online.

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It makes it easy to post the correct opening hours and location

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To deliver a positive customer experience, it’s imperative that your hours of operation and location address are accurate. If the restaurant is closed on Sunday, then it should not be listed as being open at all times on Sundays. If you recently moved, you need an easy way to update your address. With a business listings management platform, you can update your hours and address from a single platform that’s able to find and update your listings across the web.

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It's also important to note if this information changes during different parts of the year. Maybe your restaurant serves breakfast during the summer months but closes in November so they can focus on winter holidays. Or maybe you’re closed for certain hours over the holidays. If this is true for your business, then make sure that any listings reflect the changes in schedule.

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It makes it easy to upload compelling pictures and menus

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Show your restaurant in the best light. If a customer is looking for a restaurant, they want to know what it looks like, how the ambiance feels, what the menu includes, and what the most popular dishes look like. With Mobal, you can make your restaurant stand out by highlighting your mouth-watering daily specials. The more enticing your photos are, the more likely it is that someone will contact you and reserve a table.

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The importance of managing your restaurant’s business profiles

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A business listings management platform enables restaurant owners and managers to stay on top of their online presence. With better local marketing for restaurants via a business listings management platform, you gain:

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• Consistency across all of your business listings, so that customers can find you no matter what search engine or directory they use
• Up-to-date information on your location, hours, and other important details people need to know before visiting your business
• Potential new customers who find you through local search and learn more about you before deciding to come into your business

• A single platform where you can manage all your reviews and respond to them in one convenient location, improving reputation management

• Ability to get more positive reviews by improving the customer experience from the time they search to the time they sit down for a meal at your restaurant How Mobal.io can help

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With the advent of online reviews, social media, local SEO, and local search, it’s more important than ever to keep your restaurant’s information consistent and up-to-date across multiple platforms. With Mobal.io as your business listings management platform, you can make sure that all of your information is kept up-to-date and consistent. Here’s how we can help.

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One-stop shop for managing your restaurant’s online presence

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Typically, managing a company’s online presence requires a huge investment of resources and technical expertise to get it right. With Mobal.io, you have a one-stop, easy-to-use tool to effortlessly enhance your restaurant’s business listings.

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Great first impressions

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Over 83% of the world’s population owns a smartphone, and 90% of them are using their phones to find local businesses. Busy and on the go, these searchers aren’t likely to click past the first page of search results. Mobal.io will help you make a great first impression by highlighting the best parts of your restaurant and making sure your online information is accurate.

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Clear, quick access for your best customers

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People who are searching for local businesses want information as quickly and succinctly as possible. In a world where websites are no longer as important as clear and accurate business listings paired with stellar online reviews, Mobal.io turns business listings into powerful tools for local marketing for restaurants.

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Book a demo

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If you're a restaurant looking to improve your local marketing and attract new and repeat patrons at your establishment, don’t overlook the importance of a business listing management platform. Mobal makes it simple to manage your entire online presence and build a loyal community around your brand. Even better, we can help ensure that hungry customers can find your business with ease and that they see consistent information about your restaurant across the web.

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